Wltnesses



McNELLEY. Pad-Locks.

INVENT En?,

WITNEEEEE.

'raras kram Orrrcn.

JAMES MCNELLEY, OF BERGEN, ASSIGNOB OF ONE-HALF HIS RIGHT TO NICHOLAS S.VREELAND, OF JERSEY CITY, NEW JERSEY.

IMPROVEMENT IN PADLOCKS.

. Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. ll, dated May 26,1874; application filed April 1o, 1874.

To all whom it may concern: i

Be it known that I, .Lunas MGNELLEY, of Bergen, in the county of Hudsonand State of New Jersey, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Locks 5 and I do hereby declare the following to be afull, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enableothers skilled in the art to which it pertains to make and use it,reference being had to the accompanyingdrawings, which form part of thisspecification. rlhis invention relates to certain improvements in theconstruction of padlocks, the nature and object of which is to giveincreased strength and durability to the lock to prevent it from beingpicked or opened by false keys, or even with the key belonging` to it,unless in the hands of a person who knows how to use it.

The invention consists in the employment of a' grooved plate, A, havinga shoulder, B, and a post, a., projecting therefrom, and parallel withsaid grooved plate A, to which is secured a number of springguard-plates or stops, b, (say, two or more,) which constitute thelocking device, and will be hereinafter more fully explained. The lengthand size of the several parts above vmentioned will be determined by thesize of the casing O, which is hollow and adapted to receive the groovedplate A and shoulder B and the several parts connected therewith, aswell as the bow or shackle D, one or both ends of which are insertedinto the casing and fit into the grooved plate A, and are firmly heldthereby, the ends thereof being conformed to the groove in said plate A,as shown. I It will be observed that if both ends of the shackle D areinserted into the casing O the grooved plate A must be long enough toreceive it. Near one end (which we will denominate the front) of saidcasin g O is a partition, c, which is perforated so as to admit the saidgrooved plate A and the guard-plates or stops b, the latter beingpressed together again st the post a, as it slides through the partitioninto the case O, until it reaches the required point, when the stops I)are released and spring out on the inside of the partition, as shown,thus locking the parts in the casing until the sprin gstops are releasedby a key conformed and adapted to be inserted into the casin g and pressthe stops together, at the same time forcing the grooved plate, 85e.,outward until the shackle D is released.

The manner of inserting the key, when lock and key are constructed asherein shown, is as follows: For convenience, take the lock in the lefthand, with bottom toward you and keyhole upward, and the key in theright hand, and, with the handle at right angles with the bottom of thelock, insert the single hook end l of the key into the key-hole at thetop of the casing, as shown in Fig. 3, until the lip or hook l dropsinside of the casing; then lower the hand, at the same time drawinggently on the key, until the upper part of the square 2 drops into thekey-hole at the same point, when the hand should be raised gradually,and, at the same time, gently pressing the key inward until the wholeend oi' it is inside the casing, when the key must be raised to avertical position, or on a line with the bottom of the casing, andforced inward until the grooved plate A is released by the compressionof the stops b, and said grooved plate forced outward until the shackleD is released, which completes the operation of unlocking, and the keymay be removed.

In locking, the key is not required, but the shackle D is first insertedand the grooved plate A forced inward until it is locked by thespring-stops b.

The shackle D may be secured to the casing by a suitable chain toprevent it from being lost.

It will be observed that in the construction and arrangement of the lockherein shown four spring-stops, I), are used, which all abut against thepartition c when locked, and that the lock cannot be opened unless allare compressed at once; hence the diliiculty of picking, as there is nomeans of seeing or getting an impression of the inside mechanism of thelock.

I am aware that the plate A, provided with springs b and post c, is notnew.

My invention consists in the dovetail groove and springs blincombination With the shackle in its top and the notched ends of theshackle, having notched ends and casing C, substan- Whereby the shacklecan be unlocked and retially as and for the purpose set forth. movedfrom the ease Without having to take In testimony that I claim theforegoing I out the plate, as has heretofore been done. have hereuntoset my hand.

Having thus described my invention7 I JAMES MCNELLEY. claim- WitnessesThe plate A, having a dovetail groove eut GEO. II. W'ILsON, in its upperside and provided with the post a OLIVER DRAKE.

